Method For Preparing Electrostatic Dissipative Polymer

ABSTRACT

A method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer and a blend of a thermoplastic polymer and the ESD polymer is disclosed. The method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer includes the step of polymerizing the electrostatic dissipative polymer in the presence of a reactive solvent and lithium salt dissolved in the reactive solvent, wherein the amount of the reactive solvent is from 0.1 to 20 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the produced electrostatic dissipative polymer, the amount of lithium salt is from 0.1 to 5 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the produced electrostatic dissipative polymer, and the reactive solvent is aliphatic glycol having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms and having a primary alcohol group, or aromatic glycol having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms.

This application claims priority of pending Korean Patent ApplicationNo. 2004-15530 filed on Mar. 8, 2004.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method for preparing an electrostaticdissipative polymer, and more particularly, to a method for preparing anelectrostatic dissipative (ESD) polymer and a blend of a thermoplasticpolymer and the ESD polymer. In the present invention, the generation oforganic compounds during or after processing the ESD polymer and theblend is minimized by properly selecting lithium salt for improving theelectrostatic dissipative properties of the polymer, and reactivesolvent for dissipating the lithium salt in the polymer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The conductive polymers, which are widely used for antistatic materials,are classified into ionic conductive polymers and electrical conductivepolymers. The surface resistivity of the conventional conductivepolymers is generally from 1×10⁴ to 1×10¹² Ω/square when measured inaccordance with ASTM D-257. In such conventional conductive polymers,lithium salt is incorporated into the polymers for improving theelectrostatic dissipative properties of the polymers, and theincorporation of the lithium salt is carried out while the lithium saltis being dissolved in an electrolyte solvent. However, in case of usingthe conventional electrolyte solvent, the electrolyte solvent is liableto be eluted from the polymer when the polymer is processed or handledat high temperature or when the polymer is used for long time. Theeluted solvent can be adsorbed to a product packaged by the polymer, anddeteriorates the properties of the packaged product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the wide research by the present inventors on theconventional ESD polymer, the conventional ESD polymer, for example,disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,140,405 and 6,284,839 has a desirableelectrostatic dissipative property, but is degraded when processed athigh temperature, which results in the elution of the electrolytesolvent used for dissolving the lithium salt, and various other organiccompounds. In addition, when the conventional ESD polymer is used forlong time, the electrolyte solvent and various other organic compoundsare also liable to be eluted from the polymer, which deteriorates theproperties of the packaged product. After wide research on the reactivesolvent which is capable of dissolving the lithium salt and does nothave the above-mentioned disadvantages, the present inventors have foundthat the similar or superior electrostatic dissipative property can beobtained, and the elution of the electrolyte solvent and various otherorganic compounds can be minimized when a glycol compound, such asethyleneglycol (C₂H₆O₂), is used as the reactive solvent for dissolvingthe lithium salt, such as lithium (bis)perfluoroethanesulfonimide(LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂).

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a methodfor preparing ESD polymer which is capable of minimizing the elution oforganic compounds during or after processing of the ESD polymer. It isother object of the present invention to provide a method for preparingESD polymer having improved packaging property and process-ability. Itis another object of the present invention to provide a method forpreparing ESD polymer having superior electrical conductivity. It is yetanother object of the present invention to provide a method forpreparing a blend of a thermoplastic polymer and the ESD polymers.

In order to achieve these and other objects, the present inventionprovides a method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer,which comprises the step of polymerizing the electrostatic dissipativepolymer in the presence of a reactive solvent and lithium salt dissolvedin the reactive solvent, wherein the amount of the reactive solvent isfrom 0.1 to 20 weight parts based on 100, weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative (ESD) polymer, the amount of lithium salt isfrom 0.1 to 5 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the produced ESDpolymer, and the reactive solvent is aliphatic glycol having from 2 to 8carbon atoms and a primary alcohol group, or aromatic glycol haying from2 to 10 carbon atoms. The preferable ESD polymer includes polyurethane,glycol modified polyethyleneterephthalate, polypropylene, polyethylene,polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester,acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene or the mixtures thereof, and the blendcan be produced by blending the electrostatic dissipative polymer with athermoplastic polymer. The preferable reactive solvent includes asolvent selected from the group consisting of ethyleneglycol,diethyleneglycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol,1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydroquinone bis(di-hydroxyethyl)ether,1,6-hexanediol and the mixtures thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the attendantadvantages thereof, can be better appreciated by reference to thefollowing detailed description. In the following detailed description,polyurethane and the method for preparing the same will be described asa representative example of the electrostatic dissipative polymer.However, the electrostatic dissipative polymer of the present inventionis not limited to polyurethane.

Polyurethane is widely used as an antistatic material due to its goodelectrical conductivity, and can be produced by reactingpolyethyleneglycol (PEG), diisocyanate, and a chain extender. Preferablepolyethyleneglycol for the present invention is a linear polymer ofchemical formula H—(OCH₂CH₂)_(n)—OH, wherein n is a number of repeatingunit, and is from about 11 to 110. The weight average molecular weightof polyethyleneglycol is preferably from about 500 to about 5,000, andmore preferably from about 600 to about 4,000. Preferable diisocyanateis aromatic or aliphatic diisocyanate, and includes1,4-diisocyanatobenzene (PPDI), 4,4′-methylene-bis(phenylisocyanate)(MDI), 1,5-naphthalene diisocyanate (NDI), m-xylene diisocyanate (XDI),1,4-cyclohexyl diisocyanate (CHDI), and so on. The more preferablediisocyanate for the present invention is4,4′-methylene-bis(phenylisocyanate). The chain extender can bealiphatic glycol having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms and a primary alcoholgroup, or aromatic glycol having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms. Preferredchain extender includes diethyleneglycol, 1,3-propanediol,1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydroquinonebis(di-hydroxyethyl)ether, 1,6-hexanediol and the mixtures thereof, andmore preferred chain extender for the present invention is1,4-butanediol.

Polyurethane according to the present invention can be prepared byone-shot polymerization process, wherein polyethyleneglycol, the chainextender and diisocyanate are reacted simultaneously or substantiallysimultaneously at a temperature of more than 100° C., and usually atmore than 120° C. The amount of the chain extender can be from about 0.1to about 15.0 moles, and preferably from about 0.2 to about 6.1 molesfor 1 mole of polyethyleneglycol, and the amount of diisocyanate can befrom about 0.97 to about 1.02 moles, and preferably about 1.0 mole fortotal 1.0 moles of chain extender and polyethyleneglycol. If the amountof the chain extender is less than about 0.1 mole for 1 mole ofpolyethyleneglycol, reactivity of the reactants is reduced andpolyurethane may not be produced properly. If the amount of the chainextender is more than 15.0 mole, electrical properties of polyurethanecan be deteriorated. The temperature of the polymerization reaction isusually from about 180 to about 250° C., and the weight averagemolecular weight of the produced polyurethane is from about 150,000 toabout 350,000. Generally, polyurethane has a good electrical and ionconductivity because polyurethane is a hydrophilic polymer and includespolar polyethyleneglycol. Furthermore, polyurethane has advantages inthat the application areas are very wide, processing condition, forexample, molding condition can be widely varied, production cost is low,and recycling is easy. However, the conductivity of polyurethanegenerally decreases in low humidity conditions.

In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcoming, to effectivelydissipate static electricity and to improve conductivity, polyurethaneaccording to the present invention includes salts, salt complex, or saltcompound. Preferable salt for the present invention is lithium salt, andexemplary lithium salt includes LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂, LiClO₄, LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂,LiPF₆, LiAsF₆, LiI, LiBr, LiSCN, LiSO₃CF₃, LiNO₃, LiC(SO₂CF₃)₃, Li₂S,LiMR₄, or the mixtures thereof, wherein M is Al or B, R is halogen,alkyl or aryl group. The more preferred salt islithium(bis)perfluoroethanesulfonimide (LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂). Such saltcompound is added to the polymerization reaction reactingpolyethyleneglycol, diisocyanate and chain extender to producepolyurethane in which the salt is uniformly distributed. The preferableamount of the salt added to the one-shot polymerization is from about0.1 to about 5 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative polymer. When the amount of salt is less than0.1 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the polymer, the staticelectricity on the polymer cannot be desirably dissipated, and theconductivity may not desirably increase. On the contrary, when theamount of salt is more than 5 weight parts, the physical properties ofpolyurethane can be deteriorated.

Conventionally, an electrolyte solvent is used for dissolving thelithium salt. Exemplary conventional electrolyte solvent includesethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, dimethylsulfoxide,tetramethylenesulfone, tri- or tetra-ethyleneglycol dimethylether,gamma-butyrolactone, and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and the effectiveamount of the electrolytic solvent is from about 0.1 to about 20 weightparts based on 100 weight parts of the polymer. However, in case ofusing the electrolyte solvent for dissolving the lithium salt, theelectrolyte solvent can be eluted from the polymer during or after theprocessing of the polymer at high temperature, or when the polymer isused for long time. The processing of the polymer includes moldingprocess, blowing process, extrusion molding process, and so on. Theeluted electrolyte solvent can be adsorbed to a product packaged withthe polymer, and deteriorates the properties of the packaged product.Therefore, in the present invention, the reactive solvent for urethanepolymerization is used for dissolving the lithium salt. The preferablereactive solvent is aliphatic glycol having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms,preferably 2 to 6 carbon atoms, and having a primary alcohol group, oraromatic glycol having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms, preferably 6 to 10carbon atoms. Exemplary reactive solvent includes a solvent selectedfrom the group consisting of ethyleneglycol(C₂H₆O₂), diethyleneglycol,1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,5-pentanediol,1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydroquinone bis(di-hydroxyethyl)ether,1,6-hexanediol and the mixtures thereof. The most preferable reactivesolvent is ethyleneglycol. The preferable amount of the reactive solventis from about 0.1 to about 20 weight parts based on 100 weight parts ofthe polymer, and the same amount of the reactive solvent with that ofthe lithium salt can be used more preferably. If the amount of thereactive solvent is less than 0.1 weight parts based on 100 weight partsof the polymer, the lithium salt cannot be sufficiently dissolved withthe reactive solvent. On the contrary, if the amount of the reactivesolvent is more than 20 weight parts, the physical properties of polymercan be deteriorated. The reactive solvent in which the lithium salt isdissolved is added to the polyurethane polymerization process touniformly distribute the lithium salt. By using the reactive solventwhich participates in urethane polymerization reaction for dissolvingthe lithium salt, the elution of electrolyte solvent and other organiccompounds is minimized when the produced polymer is processed at hightemperature or when the produced polymer is used for long time.Therefore, the polymer produced according to the present invention doesnot badly effect on the properties of the product packaged with thepolymer, and maintains stable antistatic property.

The electrostatic dissipative polymer produced according to the presentinvention does not limited to polyurethane, but also includes glycolmodified polyethyleneterephthalate (PETG), polypropylene, polyethylene,polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester,acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, the mixtures thereof, or so on, and theblend according to the present invention can be produced by blending theelectrostatic dissipative polymer with a conventional thermoplasticpolymer. The electrostatic dissipative polymer and the blend can be usedas a packaging material or other various materials having antistaticproperty.

Hereinafter, the preferable examples of the present invention andcomparative examples are provided for better understanding of thepresent invention. The following examples are to illustrate the presentinvention, and the present invention is not limited by the followingexamples.

Examples 1-2, Comparative Examples 1-2 Preparation of ESD Polymer andBlend of a Thermoplastic Polymer and the ESD Polymer

As shown in Table 3, lithium(bis)perfluoroethanesulfonimide(LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂) was dissolved with ethylene carbonate orethyleneglycol(C₂H₆O₂). The lithium salt solutions were added to thepolymerization reaction of SKYTHANE P-008 which is commerciallyavailable polyurethane of SK Chemicals Co., Ltd. of Republic of Korea.In the polymerization reactions of Examples and Comparative Examples,the amounts of polyethyleneglycol were maintained constantly to maintainthe electrostatic dissipative properties of the base polyurethaneconstantly. Therefore, in Examples and Comparative Examples, theelectrostatic dissipative properties of the produced polyurethane dependonly on the amounts of lithium salt and the reactive solvent. Theproduced polyurethane was blended with SKYGREEN PETG which iscommercially available glycol modified polyethyleneterephthalate of SKChemicals Co., Ltd. according to the conditions shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Conditions Blending equipment Twin screw extruder, D = 70 mm,L/D = 36 Temperatures of Barrel 170/180/180/180/180/180/180/180/180° C.Screw rate 250 rpm Feed rate 250 kg/hr Temperature of polymer 185° C.

The produced blends were processed to form sheets of thickness of 1 mmwith a single screw extruder, and the processing conditions are setforth in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Condition Processing equipment Single screw extruder, D = 45 mm,L/D = 33 Temperatures of Barrel 170/185/185/185/185/185/185/185/185° C.Screw rate  60 rpm Feed rate  80 kg/hr Temperature of polymer 185° C.

Electrical characteristics of the produced sheets were measured, and theresults are set forth in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Comparative Comparative Example Example Samples example 1example 2 1 2 Amount of 0.25 0.50 0.25 0.50 LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂ (Weight part)Amount of Ethylene 0.25 0.50 0 0 carbonate (Weight part) Amount of 0 00.25 0.50 ethyleneglycol (Weight part) (ASTM D-257) Surface 1.8 x 10¹⁰1.8 x 10⁹ 2.1 x 10¹⁰ 1.4 x 10⁹ resistivity(Ω/square) Volume 5.9 x 10¹⁰5.3 x 10⁹ 6.7 x 10¹⁰ 5.8 x 10⁹ resistivity(Ω · cm) (FTMS-101C) Staticdecay 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 time (sec.)

In Table 3, “Static decay time” is the time during a test piece of 1000V is discharged to 10V, and was measured in accordance with FTMS-101Cregulation. “Surface resistivity” and “Volume resistivity” are measuredafter leaving a test piece for 40 hours at the temperature of 23±1° C.and at the relative humidity of 50±5% in accordance with ASTM D-257. Theamounts of lithium salt and the solvent for dissolving lithium salt isbased on 100 weight parts of the produced polymer.

As shown in Table 3, when the same amount of lithium salt is used, theelectrical properties of the produced polymers are similar and are notsignificantly affected by the type of the solvents.

Experimental Examples Elusion of Solvent from ESD Polymer

Polymer sheets produced according to Examples 1-2 and ComparativeExamples 1-2 were cut by 50 mm×50 mm size, and were kept in a Tefloncontainer at 90° C. for 4 hours, respectively. Then, the elusion ofsolvent was measured with Gas chromatography/Mass spectrometry(Agillent, Model 6890N/59731). The eluted organic compounds and theiramounts are set forth in Table 4.

TABLE 4 Comparative Comparative Example 1 Example 2 Example 1 Example 2LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂ 0.25 0.50 0.25 0.50 Ethylene carbonate 0.25 0.50 0 0Ethyleneglycol 0 0 0.25 0.50 Organic compounds and eluted amount(ng/g)Hydrocarbon 140.8 193.0 110.8 117.9 Ethylene carbonate 74.2 160.6 ND NDPhenol/Alcohol 88.7 91.3 51.6 56.0

In Table 4, “ND” represents “not detected”. As shown in Table 4, theorganic compounds, such as hydrocarbons, ethylene carbonate, andphenol/alcohol, were eluted from the blends of Examples 1-2 andComparative Examples 1-2, and the amounts of the eluted organiccompounds significantly decrease when ethyleneglycol was used fordissolving lithium salt. Therefore, the polymer blend which usesethylene carbonate for dissolving lithium salts, may badly affect on thepackaged product due to the eluted organic compounds, but the polymerblend which uses ethyleneglycol for dissolving lithium salts, reducessuch disadvantages.

While the present invention has been described in detail with referenceto the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat various modifications and substitutions can be made thereto withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention as setforth in the appended claims.

1. A method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer,comprising the step of polymerizing the electrostatic dissipativepolymer in the presence of a reactive solvent and lithium salt dissolvedin the reactive solvent, wherein the amount of the reactive solvent isfrom 0.1 to 20 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative polymer, the amount of lithium salt is from0.1 to 5 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative polymer, and the reactive solvent is aliphaticglycol having from 2 to 8 carbon atoms and having a primary alcoholgroup, or aromatic glycol having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms; wherein theelectrostatic dissipative polymer is polyurethane.
 2. The method forpreparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer according to claim 1,wherein the reactive solvent is a solvent selected from the groupconsisting of ethyleneglycol, diethyleneglycol, 1,3-propanediol.14-butanediol, 13-pentanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydroquinonebis(di-hydroxyethyl)ether, 1,6-hexanediol and the mixtures thereof. 3.The method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer accordingto claim 1, wherein the lithium salt is selected from the groupconsisting of LiN(SO₂C₂F₅)₂, LiClO₄, LiN(CF₃S0₂)₂, LiPF₈, LiAsF₆, LiI,LiBr, LiSCN, LiSO₃CF₃, LiNO₃, LiC(SO₂CF₃)₃, Li₂S, LiMR₄, and themixtures thereof, and wherein M is Al or B, R is halogen, alkyl or alkylgroup.
 4. The method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymeraccording to claim 1, wherein the step of polymerizing the polyurethaneis carried out in the presence of a chain extender selected from thegroup consisting of diethyleneglycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol,1,5-pentanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, hydroquinonebis(dihydroxyethyl)ether, 1,6-hexanediol and the mixtures thereof. 5.The method for preparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer accordingto claim 4, wherein the amount of the chain extender is from 0.1 to 15.0moles for 1 mole of polyethyleneglycol which is used for polyurethanepolymerization.
 6. The method for preparing an electrostatic dissipativepolymer according to claim 1, wherein the electrostatic dissipativepolymer may further comprise a polymer selected from the groupconsisting of glycol modified polyethyleneterephthalate, polypropylene,polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyester,acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene or the mixtures thereof.
 7. A method forpreparing an electrostatic dissipative polymer blend, comprising thesteps of: polymerizing an electrostatic dissipative polymer in thepresence of a reactive solvent and lithium salt dissolved in thereactive solvent, wherein the amount of the reactive solvent is from 0.1to 20 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative polymer, the amount of lithium salt is from0.1 to 5 weight parts based on 100 weight parts of the producedelectrostatic dissipative polymer, and the reactive solvent is aliphaticglycol having from 2 to 6 carbon atoms and a primary alcohol group, oraromatic glycol having from 2 to 10 carbon atoms; and blending theelectrostatic dissipative polymer with a thermoplastic polymer.